In defence of adopted children

It currently seems that different churches in the United Kingdom will lose their struggle for the rights of parents of children given up for adoption and in favour of the basic rights of freedom of conscience.

The head of the English and Welsh bishops' conference told Prime Minister Tony Blair that seven Catholic adoption agencies would close if the government forced them to place children with same-sex couples. In a letter dated January 22, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Westminster appealed to Mr Blair to grant the agencies an exemption from proposed gay rights laws called the Sexual Orientation Regulations.

"This is an appeal for fair play," the cardinal said. He said that without the exemption the Catholic agencies, which are partly funded by the government, would be forced to end a service that each year places more than 200 problem children with new families.

Besides complaints from the Catholic Church, the rules have led to complaints from the Anglican bishops and the leaders of other Christian groups. Jewish and Muslim leaders have also voiced concerns.

These different churches are not fighting to protect any rights they might have. They are struggling to protect the rights of parents who have opted to give their children up for adoption. They are striving to see that these children will be given a future in keeping with their parents' wishes.

A mother who for nine months has carried her child and given birth has the right to indicate what kind of family the child should be adopted by. A mother or father have the right to give their child to a Catholic agency because they do not want their child to be adopted by a homosexual couple. The Church has the duty to respect that right. Churches, as a consequence, are not fighting to preserve their right or to discriminate. They are fighting to protect the rights of vulnerable persons. If the government plans to ignore these rights that the Church has no alternative but to stop giving this service.

Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor said then closing the agencies was a "wholly avoidable" outcome. He said the bishops believed it would be "unreasonable, unnecessary and unjust discrimination against Catholics" if the government insisted that they must act "against the teaching of the Church and their own consciences by being obliged in law to provide such a service.

"It would be an unnecessary tragedy if legislation forced the closure of these adoption services, thereby significantly reducing the potential resources of adoptive families for the approximately 4,000 children currently waiting for adoption placements," the cardinal said in the letter, which was also sent to each member of the British Cabinet.

Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor said the agencies have had an "outstanding record of finding stable and loving homes for some of the most disadvantaged children in society - including children who have been abused, physically, sexually and emotionally; children with disability and limited life expectancy; and large sibling groups who need a family where they can grow up together."

He said that Catholic agencies would be happy to refer homosexual couples to other adoption agencies that might be able to help them.

The cardinal's intervention is the most recent and most charged in a series of efforts by the bishops' conference to safeguard the future of the agencies. The regulations, due to be enacted in England, Scotland and Wales in April, are aimed at outlawing discrimination against gays in the provision of facilities, goods and services.

They were introduced in Northern Ireland, using direct-rule powers from London, on January 1. The Northern Ireland rules say people found guilty of discrimination will be fined between £500 and £1,000 for a first offence. Subsequent serious offences could draw penalties of up to £25,000.

A 2003 document from the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said it would be "gravely immoral" to let same-sex couples adopt children. Pope Benedict XVI, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, headed the congregation at that time.

Last year in the United States, the Boston and San Francisco archdioceses changed their adoption practices because of civil laws requiring no discrimination against gay and lesbian couples seeking to adopt. The Boston Archdiocese announced it would stop providing adoption services.

Catholic Charities in San Francisco eliminated some of its activities - such as home studies and adoption placements - and shifted its efforts to education, outreach, information sharing and linking prospective adoptive parents to county and private adoption agencies.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Scotland wrote to Mr Blair last Tuesday urging him to amend the proposed regulations so that Catholic adoption agencies would not be "compelled to place children with same-sex couples."

Anglican leaders also wrote to Mr Blair the same day. "The rights of conscience cannot be made subject to legislation, however well-meaning," said Anglican Archbishops Rowan Williams of Canterbury and John Sentamu of York. "It is vitally important that the interests of vulnerable children are not relegated to suit any political interest."

They added that conditions should not be created that make ethical choices "an obstacle to, rather than the inspiration for, the invaluable public service rendered by parts of the voluntary sector."